


Mirror Image

by shadow282



Category: RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-03 10:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21177878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadow282/pseuds/shadow282
Summary: After the Fall, all Neo wants is revenge against Cinder. When her search for information leads her to the SDC, she'll realize that there's only one person with the access she needs that she knows isn't working for Cinder. All she has to do is somehow convince Weiss to trust someone she thinks is a monster.





	1. A Chance Meeting

She crept down towards the office as quietly as she could manage. She knew she'd be severely punished if she was caught eavesdropping, but she couldn't help herself. Father almost never lost his temper, but tonight the screaming was loud enough to wake her up from her room down the hall. Even the steady throb of pain from each step wasn't enough to override her curiosity. She ignored the pain and kept moving until the indistinct sounds turned into words.

"You need to fix her. Now!" Father yelled.

"It's not that simple. I've checked multiple times, and the damage from the explosion was only external. Except for some minor burns on her arms and throat, she's as healthy as she was a week ago. There was no damage to her vocal cords. She's not incapable of doing it, at least not physically." She recognized the voice. It was the doctor she'd been seeing since she was injured. His normally friendly voice was gone, replaced by a strained tone. He was clearly barely stopping himself from yelling back in reply. "For whatever reason, she's choosing not to talk." The words surprised her. The doctor had told her that was an injury that would heal soon. Clearly he had lied to her, and that hurt as much as any of her other wounds.

"What does that even mean? Why would she possibly do that?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Near-death experiences can be very traumatic, especially for a young child. Seeing her vocal coach and half a dozen concert attendees die right in front of her could leave mental scars far more damaging than any physical ones. What I do know is that you need a psychiatrist, not me."

"So you're saying my daughter is crazy, is that it? That's not possible. She's broken somehow, and if you can't find the problem, I'll pay for someone competent enough to do it!" She couldn't take it anymore. She ran out of the hallway and back into her room. She jumped into the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Her mind was racing. She wasn't crazy, she wasn't broken. She could talk if she wanted to, and she would prove it. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing would come out. She pushed and pushed and pushed, but there was some kind of wall that was stopping her from making a sound. The block was terrifying, and she wasn't sure where it came from. After a few minutes of nothing, she stopped trying. Tears stared flowing down her face as she felt her failure truly hit her.

She let herself cry out the pain for a while before composing herself again. She wasn't crazy, she was simply stuck. The thought of speaking was too scary at the moment, but she knew she would get over it eventually. It would just take a little time.

/

"It's not a good idea right now, sweetie. You're simply too busy. There's too much work to do at school and at the company to waste time on something unnecessary." Mother said. Mother didn't say it, but she knew exactly what she actually meant. Whatever her excuses, the truth was the same reason she had been barred from doing anything even slightly dangerous since the attack. _She thinks I'm too delicate. She thinks I'm still broken._

**Mother, all the other girls my age started combat training months ago. I'm already going to be behind them. If you make me wait longer, I might never catch up.** She typed out. After years of using the scroll, she had become a fast enough typist that she could maintain a mostly normal conversational speed.

"Is that such a bad thing?" And there it was, the true reason behind the excuses. "It's a brutish and unnecessary tradition. You'll never need it, you'll never use it. Your life will be perfectly fine without it."

**It's expected of me. People will notice if I'm not learning it.**

"It's not like you do everything that's expected of you right now." She tapped down on a surge of anger. It was always like this with Father and Mother. Normal conversation before they would throw in a casual remark reminding her how disappointing she was as a daughter. Not that she thought that they did it on purpose. Or at least, that Mother did it on purpose. Father always chose every word he spoke carefully. She often wondered which was worse, a parent actively disappointed in her or one who felt it so unconsciously they couldn't stop it from slipping out unnoticed.

She didn't type anything back. She simply nodded her head and turned away. She knew there was no way she was going to win this argument. If she wanted to train, she was going to have to figure out a way on her own.

/

She woke up to the sound of her window being opened. She did the only thing she could do, nothing. Her eyes remained closed, her breathing stayed steady, and she didn't move an inch. To anyone looking, she would seem like she was deeply sleeping.

Anyone except this intruder, apparently. As soon as he got completely into her room, he walked over to her bed and said, "Cut the act girl, I know you're awake." She opened her eyes and got her first look at him. He was young, not much older than her. He was standing by her bed, dressed in a white suit complete with a bowler hat and a cane pointed straight at her head. She barely stopped herself from laughing at the ridiculous sight before she noticed she was staring right down the gun barrel hidden inside the cane. "Here's what's going to happen. Since I can't leave you here, you're going to come with me. I'm not planning on hurting anyone, I just want what's in the safe. Take me there, don't make a sound, and we'll both go our separate ways." She suppressed the surge of pain she felt at the words. She couldn't really expect a random thief to know about her condition. She nodded and got out of bed, already planning the best way out of the situation. Fortunately, the safe was located in the perfect position for her. She savored in the thrill of what was about to happen as they left her room. She could feel the thief watching her every move closely, but it didn't matter. She wasn't dumb enough to do anything yet.

They paced through the dark rooms of the mansion until they finally arrived at the safe's location. It was in the main lounge right before the front doorway. It wasn't the most secure place in the mansion, but Father insisted on having it close to an exit in case it ever needed to be quickly emptied. She led the thief towards the painting about the fireplace, and she reached into it and flicked the switch hidden behind the entrance. She stepped back as the painting slid aside to reveal a gleaming steel safe. The thief stepped forward, placed his scroll against the front, and started typing something into it. He had completely stopped paying attention to her, and she knew this was her chance. She slowly backed towards the door and, once she reached it, grabbed the handle sticking out of the bin next to it. But, as she pulled it out of its stand, it hit another object in the bin and made a slight rattling noise. As soon as he heard it, the man whipped around and pointed his cane at her. She jumped to the side, trying to get out of his sight, but his cane kept trained on her as she moved through the air. She realized with a sinking feeling that she wasn't fast enough to dodge out of the bullet's way.

Instead of shooting, however, he ran at her. She rolled to her feet as he swung the cane at her head. She ducked under it, and she whipped the object she had reached for, her trusty umbrella, in an upwards swipe at the cane. Her hit connected, knocking it upwards, and as the man stumbled forward, she snapped a kick at his side. He rolled with the kick and used the momentum to spin himself around and launch back at her. She somersaulted backwards and landed out of his reach, and she felt a surge of pleasure shoot through her. Practicing her fighting had been one of the very few things she had enjoyed in these long years, but that feeling barely held a candle to the elation she felt now. He came at her again, this time swinging the cane down at her. She tried to bring her umbrella up to block, but her reflexes were too slow, and the blow landed straight on her shoulder. She was driven to her knees, but the pain she expected from the blow didn't come. It hurt, but the man was big enough that a hit from him should have been excruciatingly painful. Instead, it was lighter than some of the hits she'd taken in practice. She realized the thief was holding back, clearly still thinking he was dealing with a delicate young woman.

He was mistaken. She quickly launched herself up from her knees, barreling into him and knocking him backwards. He hadn't been expecting her to get up that quickly; he was caught enough off guard that he couldn't even block the next few umbrella swipes at him. She pressed her advantage, hitting him again and again before he had a chance to dodge or block. Sure, they weren't the most powerful blows, but they were adding up. Finally, she felt his aura break and swept his legs out from under him, knocking him to the floor. As he laid there, spread out on the ground, she pointed her umbrella at his throat. Instead of looking frightened, though, he started laughing quietly. "You're good kid, I'll give you that. But you need to work on your intimidation. Sure, you may fight well with that umbrella, but it's not exactly threatening." He was clearly going to go on, but before he could she pressed the button she had installed on the side and a small blade shot out, ending a few inches from his throat. That cut his laughter off immediately and he flinched backwards. "Okay, I take it back. Much more intimidating. Still, an umbrella? That's hardly a weapon." She kept the point near his throat with one hand while digging out her scroll with the other. She typed out a reply and held it out to him.

**Says the man who uses a cane.**

A flicker of confusion ran across his face at her use of a scroll to communicate, but he didn't ask about it. It was honestly refreshing. It might be because she had him at knifepoint, but it was the first time her use of a scroll was brushed off without a comment. "Yeah, but it's also a gun. Plus, nobody thinks to take your cane away when they search for weapons. What's your excuse?"

**Parents forbid me from having a weapon or training to fight. Only way to get one was hide it in plain sight. **She wasn't entirely sure why she was telling him this. The only other person who knew about her umbrella's capabilities was the man she'd bribed handsomely to make it for her. Maybe it was because he was the only person she'd met who wouldn't be able to spill her secret to her parents. The irony that a thief was the first person she could truly confide in wasn't lost on her.

"If you've never trained, how are you so good?" He asked.

**It took me months, but I finally convinced them to give me private dance lessons. After that, it's simply a matter of learning how to apply them.**

The man clearly didn't know how to respond to that. "Okay then, what now? I assume you're going to call the cops." She didn't respond. She was going to say yes, but the more she thought about it, the less she wanted to do it. She felt a thrill rush through her as a new idea popped into her head. She had never had more than some idle thoughts about it before, but it was always a fancy. She had known there was no way she could ever manage to do it. But now, the opportunity was here. Could she really pass up this chance? She knew nothing like it would ever come up again. If she let it slip away, she'd be stuck in this life forever.

It didn't take her long to make her decision. Instead of answering, she walked over to the safe, opened it, and took out the contents. There was a rather large stack of cash and a smaller bag filled with diamonds and other precious gems. The man gave her a confused look. "What are you doing?"

**I'm letting you escape with your prize. And in exchange, you're going to take me with you. **She twirled the umbrella around in one hand and gestured at him lying on the ground with the other. **Clearly you need the help. **He looked ready to make an angry remark at that, but he stopped himself and spent a second in thought.

"I guess I'm hardly in a position to refuse your generous offer, but we're not going anywhere until you tell me why." He gestured around him at all the obvious signs of wealth. "You live a life of luxury, never needing to worry about anything. Why would you possibly want to leave that behind?"

**Because a cage is a cage, no matter how nice the inside looks. **He seemed to consider that for a second.

"All right, I can work with that. Now, if you'll please drop the umbrella, we can collect our stuff and be on our way." He stood up, grabbed his fallen hat and cane, and walked back towards her room. "After this job, it's gonna be a little hot in Atlas for me. I'm thinking a change of scenery is overdue. Sound good to you?" She nodded back at him. "We'll go straight to the airfield then. By the way, the name's Roman. Who are you?" She stared at him without responding. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she had no idea how to answer that question. He gave it a few seconds before saying "You do have a name, right?"

**Not anymore.**

Roman shrugged. "If you say so. For now, we need to leave. Come on, Strange Little Girl. Follow me."


	2. Partners in Crime

"Let me do the talking, okay? Just stay behind me and be ready for the signal." Roman whispered to her. Anyone else who mocked her condition like that would have swiftly learned what a huge mistake they had made, but with Roman it was okay. Roman understood. So she nodded to him and let him do what he did best. They walked into the bank and marched straight up to the counter. "I demand to speak with a manager! I won't stand for this kind of treatment!" Roman yelled at the woman sitting behind there. As the woman scrambled away, Neo looked at their reflection on the window. Roman's outfit hadn't changed much since they partnered together, but she was completely different. Her clothes were a more fashionable version of Roman's, obviously without that ridiculous bowler hat. It would have messed with her freshly dyed hair, now a mix of brown and pink that matched her eyes. Roman's face in the reflection was twisted in fury, and she quickly mirrored it on her own. Together, they looked exactly like the kind of rich, angry customers that any manager would try to calm down as soon as possible.

They didn't spend long waiting in front of the counter; Roman's fury seemed too great to keep him in one place. He walked away and started angrily pacing back and forth across the lobby. Neo followed him and took up a position nearby him but out of his way. A position that, coincidentally, was right next to the lobby security guard. It didn't take very long for the manager to come running out of the back and up to Roman. He was a small man, looking weary and not at all prepared to deal with this right before they closed for the night. Neo felt a little bad for him. He didn't stand a chance against Roman. He went up to him and tried to begin speaking, but Roman cut him off, "There you are! Do you have any idea what I've been through tonight? I pay very, very good money to this bank, and I expect the kind of service that money should earn. So tell me why..." She knew Roman could keep this tirade up for a long time. His performance was impressive enough that everyone in the bank was staring at the him, transfixed in the way that only a public spectacle can make people. Which meant that nobody noticed the men silently moving into the back area behind the tillers until they were pressing guns into their backs. As soon as Neo saw they were all covered she turned, swept her umbrella under the guard's legs, and drew the blade out from the base and put it to his throat. Roman lifted his cane up and pointed it at the manager, and his tone suddenly shifted from rage to cool control. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a robbery. As long as you behave yourselves, nobody will get hurt and we'll all be on our merry way." Roman gestured at the manager. "Now, if you would, let's go open that vault, shall we? Neo, stay here and cover the lobby." They walked off, and several of the men moved from behind the counter to join them. Neo waited, watching everyone cowering on the ground while trusting her partner to get the prize on his own. It only took a few minutes of silence for them to return with bags full of money. Neo grabbed a few from Roman, and they turned to walk out the front door. They only made it a few steps, however, before sirens starting blaring in the distance. Roman sighed in annoyance. Clearly one of their hires screwed up cutting the alarm system. "Good help is really, really hard to find these days." Roman reflected as they ran towards the door. Neo nodded in agreement.

They ran out the door but stopped dead once they went outside. Instead of the van that was supposed to be waiting for them, there was an empty street. The driver must have gotten spooked and left without them. Neo wanted to scream, but she knew it wouldn't be helpful. Fortunately, she knew what they needed to do next. She grabbed Roman and they started running. Everyone else could figure things out for themselves; right now, all that was important was that she escaped with her partner. They ran down side streets and alleys, but no matter where they ran the sirens seemed to inch ever closer. They kept running for a few more minutes, but eventually they took a wrong turn and hit a dead end. Neo knew they didn't have enough time to backtrack and go a different direction, not before their pursuit caught them. She felt her stomach begin to sink. Years of always getting away with their crimes; undone by the mistakes of other people. It didn't seem fair, somehow. She wished they could fade into the background, just hide away until everyone left them alone. She didn't want to be caught, she didn't want to be separated from Roman.

Suddenly she felt this weird pressure in her chest, and her mind conjured up an image of the alleyway before they had entered it. Roman started moving forward to take down the approaching cops, but for some reason she couldn't explain she held his arm back and stopped him. They stood still for several moments before several cops reached the beginning of the alley and stared directly at them. "I could have sworn I saw someone run in here. Come on, they must have turned elsewhere. We need to go before we lose them." One of the cops said. With that, they turned and left, leaving Roman and her standing there staring after them.

"What was that?" Roman asked, an incredulous look on his face. Neo shrugged and leaned in close to him.

"I'm not sure. I thought of an empty alleyway in my head, and then this weird pressure appeared." She whispered to him. She always whispered to him. It was the only way she could bring herself to ever talk, making sure that Roman was the only one to hear it. He was the only one who deserved it, after years of partnership.

"Well, Neo, it appears we just found your semblance. And it saved our asses, too. Thanks." Neo felt herself perk up at the compliment. Roman always appreciated her. "But we can explore that more later. For now, we have an escape to finish." At this point, the chase had moved past them. They turned and walked back to their safe house, not hearing another siren before they stepped through the door.

/

**I don't like it. Working for other people like this hasn't worked out well for us before. And I'm not entirely comfortable with what she's planning. We're thieves, we aren't terrorists. **She typed.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but it's not exactly like we have much choice in the matter. You heard what she said. You felt that power radiating off her. It's beyond anything we've ever met before, Neo. Nothing can stop that, nothing. We can either be on her team, or we can be in her way. And somehow I doubt things in her way survive that long." Neo simply stared straight ahead. She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

After looking at her, his expression softened. "It's us or them, Neo. The truth is that these people," He gestured around him, "are dead already. There's a timer on all of them that's ticking down, and it hasn't got much time left. I don't want to join them, personally."

**Of course not, but that doesn't mean we have to help her. We're survivors, Roman, you've said it for years. We can get through this too.**

Roman bent down so that they were face to face with each other. "I think this is our best bet. But we're partners, Neo. And I trust you. If this is too much, if you can't do this, then we'll refuse Cinder. We'll pack up everything right now and turn and run from Vale as far and as fast as we can. We'll figure it out along the way." Roman was an excellent liar, but not to her. She had worked with him long enough to see through his lies. And right now, she saw it very clearly: Roman might be saying they could make it, but he didn't believe that. Not for a second. He was convinced that, if they refused Cinder, they would both be killed.

**No, you're right. Nobody can save these people. This is our best chance for survival. We need to take it.**

Roman leaned across and hugged her. "It'll be okay. We'll stick together and protect each other, like always. We'll work with them, ride out whatever happens, and once everything's fallen into place we'll see where we stand and go from there. As long as we're together, everything will work out."

/

Neo waited in the shadows of the warehouse for Mercury to reach her. When she had gone to the rendezvous point, she expected to find all three of them together. She was too angry to have thought through what she would have done next. But with Mercury clearly here by himself, she knew this was the perfect opportunity for her. She could deal with him now, and once he was eliminated, she would worry about the other two. Once he was within range, she conjured an illusion of Emerald on his other side. He turned to face her and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could she swept Hush under his legs. The unexpected blow knocked him off his feet and he fell towards the floor. Neo moved forward and snapped a kick at his head, trying to knock him out before he could fight back. However, his surprise didn't last as long as she hoped, and he managed to twist himself enough that the blow landed on his back instead. He skidded across the floor, but before she could begin moving after him, he flipped around and regained his feet.

"That was a stupid mistake, Neo. Do you really think this is going to end well for you?" Mercury yelled at her. She didn't react at all to his words. She stood there with a smirk on her face and waited. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it. I doubt that smirk will last long once I deliver you to Cinder." With that, he launched himself forward and aimed a kick at her face. She leaned to the side and swung Hush down at his leg, knocking it back down to the ground. He landed and spun around with his other leg, but she somersaulted backwards to avoid it. By the time she landed, Mercury had already turned and started firing shots at her through his boots. She opened her umbrella and moved to block them all. She knew Hush could handle them without any problems. As she caught the last one, she heard the sound of a boot striking the ground right in front of her. She realized what he had done a second too late to do anything about it. Mercury had used the shots to block her sight as he started sprinting towards her, and before she could react, he lifted his foot up and brought it down on her right shoulder. She used the force of the blow to help her roll to the right and jumped backward to her feet. She tried to ignore the pain shooting through her arm. Mercury was _strong_, and she knew she couldn't take more than a few hits before he broke through her aura. He hadn't moved yet, so she started running towards him. He jumped towards her, and she lifted her umbrella to block the attack. However, Mercury fired a shot at her, and she couldn't possibly move fast enough to block or dodge it. The shot hit her right in the arm, and "Neo" broke into pieces.

As her illusion shattered, it showed her standing several feet to the right of where Mercury was aiming. He didn't react fast enough to stop her from landing several quick kicks into his side, and he again fell to the floor. He leapt up again immediately and came at her again. As he sent kick after kick at her, she kept stepping backwards. She dodged side to side, smacking her umbrella into his legs anytime he came near her to direct the blow away from her. She let him keep attacking, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Finally, he overextended too much, and Neo knew she had him. She suddenly stopped moving backwards, and instead pushed forward. Mercury, off balance after his missed attack, wasn't quick enough to stop her from grabbing him, rolling him over her shoulder, and using the momentum to toss him straight into the back wall of the warehouse. The cheap warehouse walls weren't strong enough to stop him, and he smashed straight through it and into the darkness. She started slowly walking towards the hole. Mercury had taken quite a bit of damage in their fight, but she wasn't sure if the throw was enough to knock him down. The back wall was against an unlit alley, and it was too dark in there for her to see anything. The only way to check was to walk out there, but the darkness made it the perfect place for an ambush if Mercury was still conscious. Fortunately for her, she could check and still be safe from any attack. She conjured an illusion of herself walking a few feet in front of her. If Mercury was waiting for her, his attack on the image would give her enough time to react.

But right before she reached the hole, the ground in front of her suddenly flared red before exploding. She was thrown backwards and landed flat on her back. Before she could get up, she heard heels striking the ground close behind her and looked up to see shards of glass floating directly above her head. "Neo, Neo, Neo. Whatever are we going to do with you?" She heard Cinder say as she walked towards her. "How am I supposed to respond, when I find one of my partners attacking my disciple?" Neo glared up at her. She knew exactly what was coming next.

"I should probably kill you for this, but I'm loathe to abandon such useful tools." Okay, maybe she didn't know what was coming next. "You're upset about Roman, I get that. If he had followed the plan, everything would have worked out fine." _And if your White Fang goons were any good, we wouldn't have been discovered by a bunch of little girls._ She thought. "But don't worry, he's still very much a factor in our plans. As are you. We have too much to do to keep a useful asset like him in jail. We'll spring him soon enough, and if you behave yourself you can even be the one to do it. How does that sound?" She didn't actually like the sound of it at all, but this did seem like the best way to reunite with Roman. She would worry about the rest after they were together again. She nodded her agreement. "Excellent. I'm glad that's settled. You can go, we'll contact you when we need you next." Neo bristled at the dismissive tone, but she knew she couldn't do much about it. She would have to simply play along. At least, for a little while longer. She got up and started to leave.

"Oh, and Neo?" She turned and looked at Cinder to see one of her eyes surrounded by a furious ring of fire. "Attack any of our associates again, and useful or not I'll burn you and Roman to ashes. Understood?" Neo nodded and practically ran out the building. She knew Cinder was perfectly capable of doing it.

/

"Guess who?" Neo winked at Ruby as she sent the message. _This is gonna be fun._ Not that she had anything personally against the young woman. She wasn't really in the business of holding grudges against little girls. She did, however, always manage to be around to annoy Roman, and that was a good enough reason to eliminate her. Plus, after being separated from Roman for so long any fight with her partner was going to feel fantastic. She stood there humming contentedly and waiting for her friend to arrive.

Once Roman reached the top of the airship, the fight was over quickly. Ruby was faster than her sister on the train, but she still wasn't fast enough to threaten Neo. She could have taken Ruby by herself; with Roman, it was barely a contest. They fought together the same way they had for years. She dodged around, avoiding blows and maneuvering Ruby into openings for Roman to attack. They spent a while knocking Ruby down, taking down chunks of her Aura. They could have ended it much more quickly, but Roman seemed to be having fun with the fight. After being stuck in prison, he deserved to let loose a little.

But only a little. After she'd let him have his fun, Neo hooked Hush around Ruby's scythe and ripped it from her hands. She kicked Ruby right in front of Roman, and he fired a shot that knocked her towards the edge. She dug her scythe into the metal and ended up hanging off the edge of the airship, legs dangling into the vast emptiness below them. Neo slowly walked forward to finish her so Roman could have fun monologuing at her. It wasn't exactly his most appealing quality, but he was quite good at it, and it'd give her material to tease him for months. She gave him enough time to build up to a dramatic moment then smiled and reached down to end this. But Ruby quickly reached up and suddenly she was flying, pulled directly off into the air. She tried to turn herself around but knew there was no way she could control herself in these winds. The last thing she heard was Roman shouting her name before she slammed into a griffin and lost track of the world.

She regained consciousness on the forest floor, both arms still tightly gripping Hush. _Note to self: umbrella is not the best weapon while airborne._ Neo thought. She sighed. Roman was going to have a field day with this once they reunited. There was nothing she could do about it, so Neo just resigned herself to her fate. Plus, it had been months since she'd gotten to talk to Roman. Even several conversations about how a cane was somehow a more practical weapon than an umbrella wouldn't be too bad. She found herself humming as she started towards Vale. She was elated to finally reunite with Roman. They'd never been apart for this long. She missed the one person who had ever truly understood her. Plus, dealing with her remaining allies in her own was rather unsettling. Emerald's puppy dog love and Mercury's sick cruelty would have been bad enough on their own, but together with Cinder it was just too much. Cinder's lust for power was an almost physical thing. Neo could see it in her eyes, hear it in her speech. She wasn't exactly a doctor, but she knew one thing for certain: Cinder was insane.

She encountered Grimm on her way out of the forest, but she wasn't in the mood to bother fighting them. She activated her semblance and skirted around them, safely hidden from their view. It took her a few hours, but she reached Vale and went straight towards their safe house. She wasn't entirely sure if he would be there already, but she couldn't really tell how much time had passed since the attack. It was long enough that the Grimm had been driven from the city, but not long enough to clear the streets of the debris, dead bodies, and robot parts. She went straight there and ignored the damages from the attack. They were the consequence of survival. The world was a cold and callous place, and people needed to be strong to survive. She hadn't made this world, she was just forced into living in it.

She got in and the place was still undisturbed from her last visit. She told herself that there was no real reason to worry, that Roman could have gotten delayed for any number of reasons. He would surely walk into her room any minute now, twirling his cane around and sauntering in with that ridiculous hat. She waited and waited, but he never appeared. As time went on, she started to get legitimately worried. She knew waiting was the easiest way to find him, but she couldn't sit here much longer. If Roman wasn't going to come to her, she would have to track him down herself. She left the apartment and walked into one of the safe zones that had already been set up. They were filled with displaced residents, and crowds of nervous people always led to widespread rumors. She would sit on the side, listening, until she found Roman's location.

And that's what she did. She sat and listened. Most of the talk was about the White Fang or the mysterious woman who hijacked the tournament feeds, but she slowly pieced together the rumors about her partner. And every single one she heard increased her worry. She heard Roman was captured, she heard he went down in the airship, she heard he was betrayed by the White Fang or murdered by Atlas forces or killed by the Grimm. The rumors all had one thing in common: Roman was no longer free. Neo knew what she needed to do next. She needed to find out the truth from the person she knew was with him last. If Roman was imprisoned, she would find him and break him out. And if he was dead, whoever was responsible would suffer a very painful death.


End file.
